The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 405 Tiger and Wolf

Chapter 405 Tiger and Wolf
The fourteenth year of Chongzhen.

September 13th.

Capital.

The business world is still bustling, and the streets are still crowded.

However, the sky above the capital was covered with dark clouds.

Everywhere I looked was darkness.

This capital city briefly regained its vitality in the 13th year of Chongzhen.

But now, that vitality has disappeared again.

Even in the early morning, it still seemed gloomy.

Perhaps, it has existed for too long.

Or maybe, it's because I've experienced too many hardships.

In the Qianqing Palace.

Chongzhen sat on the first seat. There were many ministers in the palace, but only one person sat in the front row.

This person was Zhou Yanru, who was summoned from the south to the capital and was immediately appointed as the chief minister of the cabinet.

This was not the first time Zhou Yanru served as prime minister.

In the second year of Chongzhen, Zhou Yanru entered the cabinet as the Minister of Rites and Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion.

In February of the following year, he was given the title of Prince Taibao and appointed as Grand Secretary of Wenyuan Pavilion. In September, he was promoted to Chief Assistant of the Cabinet, given the title of Shao Bao and appointed as Grand Secretary of Wuying Palace.

Later, because he was at a disadvantage in the political struggle with Wen Tihen, he had no choice but to return home on the grounds of illness.

But nowadays, national affairs are difficult and the situation is tough.

Each successive prime minister was worse than the previous one.

Chongzhen finally remembered Zhou Yanru, his former prime minister.

When Zhou Yanru was in office, the domestic situation was still moving in a good direction, not as deteriorating as it is today.

From the memorials submitted some time ago, Chongzhen felt that he had made the right decision in appointing Zhou Yanru as the Prime Minister.

Zhou Yanru submitted a memorial, saying that given the current situation, we could release those households that owed grain and exempt the people from long-standing overdue taxes so that the refugees could return to their hometowns to farm.

All places that have suffered from war or famine will be exempted from this year's land tax, pardon those who have been sentenced to garrison duty or less, correct the mistakes made in the examinations, expand the number of candidates to be recruited, and recall officials who have been demoted for speaking out.

These measures made Chongzhen feel very reasonable.

Chongzhen respected Zhou Yanru very much. After that, he always called Zhou Yanru "Prime Minister" or "Mr.", and even frequently gave him seats and meals.

When Xue Guoguan was in office, he was not given many honors.

Among all the prime ministers in history, only Yang Sichang had this honor.

This is enough to show how much Chongzhen relied on Zhou Yanru.

Liaodong was overthrown and the Northwest was lost.

The situation in the South is getting worse day by day.

Chongzhen was already extremely anxious.

Chongzhen felt that all the ministers in the huge court were untrustworthy.

Although Chen Xinjia was brave enough to take on responsibilities, he lacked the ability to support the country.

Today the country's situation is deteriorating.

Zhou Yanru's arrival gave Chongzhen, a drowning man, something to rely on.

"The food and grass in Songjin and Jincheng are almost exhausted. They are only enough to sustain for four months. If we save as much as possible, we can only extend the life by two months. It is estimated that the two cities will run out of food shortly after the beginning of next spring."

"By then..."

Chen Xinjia had not finished speaking, but the ministers and Chongzhen present all understood what Chen Xinjia meant.

By the beginning of next spring, when Song and Jin cities have run out of ammunition and food, the cities will be captured and the armies will be defeated.

Once Songjin was lost, Xingshan and Tashan would naturally be difficult to defend.

By then, the only isolated city left in Liaodong will be Ningyuan.

Without Song and Jin in Liaodong, the Qing army will become more and more unscrupulous, and the border looting will be repeated again.

He experienced failures in the Songjin and Northwest battlefields.

The country has almost no soldiers capable of fighting in the north.

Nor could it call on troops from all over the country to come to the defense of the country as it did during the previous invasions by the Qing army.

Because now all the troops in the Southern Kingdom have been mobilized to encircle and suppress the Wanmin Army and Zhang Xianzhong.

State affairs were difficult, the imperial court's influence over the local areas was growing weaker, and the chieftains in the southwest had begun to have other ideas. They found excuses to halve or delay paying taxes.

"What do you think should be done about the current situation?"

Chongzhen had already run out of ideas in his mind and could only throw the problem to Zhou Yanru.

If he had his own ideas, the country would not have deteriorated to the point it is today.

Zhou Yanru, who was sitting in the chair, moved his eyes slightly and sighed in his heart.

Before this, the position of the prime minister of the imperial court might have been a popular one.

But now, it is an existence that others try to avoid.

The situation is deteriorating day by day and the country is in a state of decline.

The trend of collapse was already obvious. When Zhou Yanru became the Prime Minister at this time, he could vaguely foresee his own outcome.

But even though he knew that coming again would bring disaster, he dared not not come because of the emperor's decree.

Zhou Yanru was also clear about the situation within the court.

His disciples all hoped that he would make a comeback, and even spent huge amounts of silver to befriend eunuchs and ministers to promote his comeback.

“Things have different priorities. We should choose the most important ones to do first and the less important ones to do later.”

Zhou Yanru bowed slightly and responded.

"The battle to aid Songjin was not a complete success, but it did help solve the urgent problem for Songjin."

"Song and Jin cities still have four months' worth of food and tens of thousands of soldiers, so we can hold off on providing rescue assistance."

"Now the war is serious, the epidemic has re-emerged, the southern bandit army is gaining momentum, and Shandong has its followers who have cut off the grain transport. It is already difficult to supply the capital, and it is not easy to just hold on."

"The most urgent priority should be the South and Northwest."

Chongzhen frowned slightly, but soon relaxed.

He was eager to resolve the problem in Liaodong.

But through Zhou Yanru's words, he also knew that the problem of Liaodong could only be delayed.

In the Battle of Songjin, the elite troops from the nine borders and the strength of the northern country were assembled, but in the end, they were still defeated.

At that time, Hong Chengchou requested to advance step by step and gradually to lift the siege of Jinzhou.

But the country simply did not have that much money and grain to supply Liaodong.

Even in the later period, part of the military funds that should have been allocated to the southern and northwestern towns were directly withdrawn and transported to Liaodong.

The result of this was that resentment was rampant in the towns in the southern country.

Zuo Liangyu even kept his troops inactive for a long time, claiming that his soldiers were extremely resentful due to lack of pay and he could only try his best to suppress the resentment.

If we march forward again, it might cause mutiny among the troops under our command.

"The Southern Kingdom is now divided between the two thieves Zhang Xianzhong and Li Yan."

"Zhang Xianzhong has about 100,000 people under his command in Jiujiang Prefecture. He poses a great threat and must not be allowed to escape."

The governor of Huguang reported that Zhang Xianzhong now had more than 100,000 soldiers under his command. The soldiers were wearing bright armor, their battle formations were strict, and their morale was high, which was completely different from when they were on the run.

Among the various towns that attacked Zhang Xianzhong, the main force was undoubtedly Zuo Liangyu.

The garrisons of Cao Bianjiao, Luo Rucai and others were weak in strength and were only detachments, unable to threaten Zhang Xianzhong, who had become powerful by now.

Because of Zuo Liangyu's indulgence, Zhang Xianzhong became more powerful. He first captured Huangmei, and then successively captured the three cities of Danshui, Huangzhou and Macheng around Wuchang, threatening Wuchang.

In order to prevent Zhang Xianzhong from sneaking into Southern Zhili, Southern Zhili even sent troops to defend the southwest.

As a result, the frontal battlefield against the People's Army became even weaker.

"Generals Cao Bianjiao, Meng Ruhu, Liu Guangzuo, and Luo Rucai have weak forces and are not strong enough to fight against Zhang Xianzhong."

"The most powerful person in the suppression of the towns is Zuo Liangyu."

"Therefore, if we want to wipe out Zhang Xianzhong, we still need to rely on Zuo Liangyu."

All the ministers present knew what Zhou Yanru said.

"The hatred between Zuo Liangyu and Zhang Xianzhong was deep and difficult to resolve."

"They are currently occupying Wuchang and refusing to advance, using the excuse that they are short of money for military pay."

"We can first pay the arrears of wages, and then issue an order to Zuo Liangyu."

"The court has the reputation of being righteous and has paid the arrears of wages. Zuo Liangyu has no excuses and can only go to war."

Chen Xinjia frowned and hesitated for a long time, then took a step forward and bowed to Chongzhen.

Chongzhen understood and spoke immediately.

"Lord Chen, do you have anything to say?"

"Your Majesty, I do have something to report."

Chen Xinjia bowed again and then spoke in a deep voice.

"Zuo Liangyu has been arrogant and domineering despite nine edicts. He has the appearance of a bear or a tiger but the voice of a jackal. He has long harbored ulterior motives." "The court has shown its tolerance by not punishing him. If the court pays him the arrears, he will think that the court is weak, which will surely encourage his arrogance."

"If the imperial court shows weakness, other towns will follow suit, which will be a disaster."

Chongzhen's expression became solemn when he heard this.

The problem Chen Xinjia mentioned does exist in reality.

Arrears of wages have become the norm in all towns. Even the nine important border towns often owe wages, let alone the military towns in the interior?

The imperial court had been spending money beyond its means for a long time, and due to various deficits, it had no choice but to increase the rations repeatedly.

There is not a single military town in the whole world where the salaries are paid in full.

"What's more, even if we want to pay the arrears, the national treasury is currently unable to withdraw so much silver."

Facing Chen Xinjia's questioning.

Zhou Yanru didn't show much expression.

He waited for Chen Xinjia to finish speaking everything before continuing.

"The current situation is critical. Although this move is inappropriate, it is the best solution available now. Minister Chen should also be aware of this."

Zhou Yanru only needed a few words to silence Chen Xinjia.

As the Minister of War, how could Chen Xinjia not know the current military situation in various parts of the country.

The state is indeed declining, like a great house.

There was a strong storm outside, and the rotten house began to break in many places.

However, there were not enough wooden boards and stones to repair the house.

I can only...struggle to support...

Chen Xinjia retreated without saying a word.

"The towns are short of food and money, and the treasury is empty and difficult to replenish. We must first focus on suppressing the bandits."

"Songjin focuses on maintaining stability and just keeping the status quo."

"We can temporarily cut the supply to Liaodong to support domestic anti-bandit affairs..."

As Zhou Yanru finished speaking, all the sounds in the Qianqing Palace suddenly disappeared.

In the Battle of Songjin, more than 50,000 soldiers were killed or wounded.

There will be no need to pay food and wages to these more than 50,000 soldiers in the future.

But pensions have to be paid.

The compensation for tens of thousands of soldiers who died in battle is not a small amount.

Zhou Yanru said it very obscurely.

But everyone present here has been in the political arena for many years.

Naturally, one could hear the hidden meaning behind Zhou Yanru's words.

Zhou Yanru, you want to use the money and grain used for relief.

Chen Xinjia opened his mouth and wanted to say something.

But his expression kept changing, and in the end he didn't say it.

Chen Xinjia lowered his head. With the current situation like this, he really couldn't think of a better solution...

"Zuo Liangyu is extremely domineering and difficult to control, so in addition to replenishing the food and wages of his troops, we also need to dispatch a general to control him."

"Constraints?"

Chongzhen looked at Zhou Yanru and frowned.

"Now the Southern Kingdom is attacking Zhang Xianzhong's towns, and Zuo Liangyu is the most powerful. Who else can he be..."

Chongzhen stopped talking halfway because he thought of someone.

"You mean..."

"Your Majesty has a good idea."

Zhou Yanru clasped his hands, bowed slightly, and played the answer.

"It's Chen Wang."

Zhou Yanru talked freely.

"On the tenth day of September, General Chen Wang, the bandit-suppressing general, reported that after many months of hard fighting, Xiangyang had finally been recovered."

"When the city was broken, the bandit general Li Dingguo boarded a boat that night and fled eastward with dozens of cavalrymen. The rest of the bandits were captured."

"Now that Xiangyang has been recaptured, the troops besieging the city will be freed."

"Outside Xiangyang City, there is now one battalion of Hanzhong Town soldiers and six battalions of Huguang soldiers, with a total of more than 10,000 soldiers. The commander of the troops is Hanzhong Town Deputy General Zhou Yumao."

Chongzhen pondered for a moment.

"Zhou Yumao..."

Chongzhen felt somewhat familiar with this name.

After searching his memory for a while, Chongzhen also remembered who Zhou Yumao was.

Chongzhen only gradually became aware of the affairs outside the Great Wall in recent days.

Why did Zuo Liangyu, as the general of a town, have so many soldiers and horses? It was all due to the secret rules.

As Chen Wang was more capable and adept at fighting than Zuo Liangyu, he naturally had a large number of soldiers under his command.

In order to restrain Chen Wang, the Ministry of War proposed not long ago to promote Zhou Yumao to deputy general in order to share Chen Wang's power.

"Chen Wang has made great military achievements and was given the seal of a general who suppressed the bandits. He was given the power to suppress Henan and enjoyed great prestige among the troops in the various towns within the Great Wall."

"Henan has a civil unrest, Chen Wang led the Hanzhong garrison troops to quell the rebellion, so he has no time to spare."

"But you can dispatch Zhou Yumao to lead his troops and the Huguang troops to the east to suppress the Xian bandits, and use Chen Wang's name to check and balance Zuo Liangyu."

Chongzhen frowned slightly and did not immediately respond to Zhou Yanru's proposal.

Because the power Chen Wang holds now seems to be too great.

The original purpose of promoting Zhou Yumao to deputy general was to restrain Chen Wang and divide his power.

But in fact, Zhou Yumao seemed to have already become Chen Wang's confidant, and had not received any of the power in Chen Wang's hands at all.

Chen Wang is now in charge of the suppression work in Henan, and almost all the troops in Henan are under his control.

He even trained the Seventh Battalion of the New Army himself.

As an emperor, Chongzhen was extremely sensitive to power.

Chen Wang has always been relatively obedient, but who can guarantee that Chen Wang will remain loyal?

Even if Chen Wang remains loyal, will the generals under his command be loyal?

Like Zuo Liangyu, Chen Wang had many surrendered bandits under his command.

People like the Whole World King Wang Guoning, the Ten Rebel Kings Yang Youxian and others are now following Chen Wang's wing and taking orders directly from him.

Gao Jie, Hui Dengxiang, Ma Jinzhong and other battalion leaders of the old 36th Battalion, who were under the command of Sun Chuanting, seemed to be very close to Chen Wang.

If Chen Wang is entrusted with another important task, I am afraid...

Chongzhen's eyes narrowed slightly.

He had heard the story of the Chenqiao mutiny and the yellow robe when he was very young.

Although the Ming Dynasty was founded on military power, it later controlled the military with civil power, which was also part of the consideration.

However, as the situation worsened, the power of military generals began to expand again.

What Chen Wang has done so far can indeed be described as loyal.

but……

When Wang Mang was humble and had not yet usurped the throne...

There is no impenetrable wall in this world.

Chongzhen also received some news about Hanzhong Town and Chen Wang from various sources.

Chen Wang's act of exceeding his authority began when he took over Hanzhong Wei.

They set up checkpoints privately to collect commercial taxes, seized mines and land, and colluded with officials to buy and sell goods.